SIGDA Sponsored Professional Development Programs

To support further development of EDA professionals, SIGDA sponsors various programs that are intended to increase participation and awareness of electronic design automation among students, researchers, and engineers. Among its sponsored activities, SIGDA includes travel grants for EDA professionals, the SIGDA University Booth at DAC, the SIGDA Ph.D. Forum at DAC, and the SIGDA CADathlon at ICCAD. Every other year, a Design Automation Summer School is organized, typically in conjunction with a major event. SIGDA volunteers also administer the Young Student Support Program at DAC which enables and supports undergraduate and junior graduate student participation at SIGDA's premier conference.

Targeting mostly students and young researchers, these programs are intended to introduce and outline emerging challenges, and to foster creative thinking in the next crop of EDA engineers. Simultaneously, they also help students hone their problem solving, programming, and teamwork skills in additional to fostering long-term collegial relationships. Together, these programs serve as an innovative initiative to assist in the development of top students in the field of electronic design automation and provide a platform for academia and industry to focus attention on the best and brightest of next generation EDA professionals.